Tough Chick! Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz

FEMINIST BABY CHOOSES WHAT SHE WEARS!

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, SHE DOESN'T CARE!

She wears pink, but she also wears blue. Either one will do.

And when she wants to get down and dirty, it may be a no-pants day. And when she wants to play, she wears a no-nonsense diaper, and nothing else--except for her little pink hairbow, of course.

Of course, when she does get fancied up, she's an eclectic dresser. Who says you can't wear a necktie with a tutu? Or a helmet with high heels?

She plays with dolls AND cars, and she doesn't mind making a passel of noise drumming on the pots and pans while she's at it.

In her popular new board book, Loryn Brantz even has her strong-minded baby tie on a bandana and bare her biceps in a Rosie the Riveter pose that shows Feminist Baby is ready to get the job done, in her run-away hit, Feminist Baby (Disney Press, 2017). In a fun spoof of feminist tropes, Brantz' cute little protagonist takes it all in her stride. Truth to tell, babies won't exactly get the parody of power dressing, but tots will still love Brantz' brash babe who shows she has a mind of her own. Pair this one with Marla Frazee's hit (and now movie) The Boss Baby (Classic Board Books) and especially its sequel, in which Boss Baby meets more than his match in his pink-clad sibling. (Read reviews here).

Counting Basics: Ten Tiny Toes by Caroline Jayne Church

MOUTH, EARS,

EYES, NOSE,

ARMS, BELLY, LEGS,

AND TEN TINY TOES.

It's a top-down tale, from a tousled, tow-headed tot's head, his ticklish belly, and those made-for- counting toes at the bottom, in Caroline Jayne Church's best-selling board book, Ten Tiny Toes (Scholastic Cartwheel Books, 2014).

Church rhymes the names of the body parts as she goes--nose and toes, of course, but also ears that wiggle and a belly laugh that giggles.  There is plenty of movement in the mix, touching toes down low and standing straight with hands over head as up they go.  There's a sneeze from that little round nose, and at the end, a full body hug for his ever-present Teddy.

Church's illustrations, bounded by smoothly curved black line and filled in with warm palette, emphasizing the lines of the toddler's rounded face, tummy, and ten little piggy toes, make this toddler board book a jolly exercise in story sharing for parent and child. A comfortably-sized board book, with rounded edges and semi-soft cover for easy handling, Ten Tiny Toes is a must-have for little learners. And now that tots know the body parts, put some clothes on by pairing this one with Church's equally adorable Let's Get Dressed!